Sarah Silverman has apologised after saying she wanted Louis CK to perform again and address the sexual misconduct claims made against him.
Silverman told Howard Stern on his radio show that she thought Louis CK had “remorse” for his actions, almost a year after several women came forward with stories of the comic exposing his penis to them and masturbating in front of them.
“I’m not saying everyone should embrace Louis again,” she said. “I believe he has remorse. I just want him to talk about it on stage. He’s going to have to find his way or not find his way.”
“I’m not saying what he did was OK. I’m just saying, at a certain point, when he became influential – not even famous, but influential in the world of comedy – it changes,” she added. “He felt like he was the same person, but the dynamic was different and it was not OK.”
She also said that Louis CK masturbated in front of her. “I’ve known Louis for ever, I’m not making excuses for him, so please don’t take this that way. We are peers. We are equals. When we were kids, and he asked if he could masturbate in front of me, sometimes I’d go: ‘Fuck yeah, I want to see that!’”
She added: “It’s not analogous to the other women that are talking about what he did to them. He could offer me nothing. We were only just friends. So, sometimes, yeah, I wanted to see it, it was amazing. Sometimes I would say: ‘Fucking no, gross,’ and we’d get pizza.”
Silverman’s remarks were criticised by Rebecca Corry, an actor who was one of the five women who told the New York Times about Louis CK’s actions. She tweeted: “To be real clear, CK had ‘nothing to offer me’ as I too was his equal on the set the day he decided to sexually harass me.”
“He took away a day I worked years for and still has no remorse. He’s a predator who victimized women for decades and lied about it.”
Silverman apologised to Corry on Twitter, saying: “Rebecca I’m sorry. Ugh this is why I don’t like weighing in. I can’t seem to do press for my show w/out being asked about it. But you’re right – you were equals and he fucked with you and it’s not ok.”
Silverman previously addressed Louis CK’s actions on her Hulu show I Love You, America, saying that she was “very angry” for the victims and the culture that enabled it, but “also sad, because he’s my friend”.
“One of my best friends of over 25 years, Louis CK, masturbated in front of women. He wielded his power with women in fucked-up ways, sometimes to the point where they left comedy entirely,” she added.
“I could couch this with heartwarming stories of our friendship and what a great dad he is, but that’s totally irrelevant, isn’t it? Yes, it is. It’s a real mind-fuck, because I love Louis, but Louis did these things. Both of those statements are true, so I just keep asking myself, can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them?”
Louis CK has been attempting to mount a comeback. He performed his first standup show since the revelations in late August in New York with a short set at the Comedy Cellar. He did not address his sexual misconduct.
The move was heavily criticised, with the Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi writing: “We should be asking ourselves how CK’s abuse of power robbed his victims of professional opportunities. We should be reminding ourselves that Louis CK is not the victim in this situation.”